Your Guide To Surviving In The End Times - From The Editors of ChristianMoney.com

09/05/2011

Preserving Personal Safety and Security at the Wheel

When we normally think of staying safe while driving, we think about rules of the road and good driving habits. Those things will always be important, but today we want to spend a few minutes discussing the matter of staying safe while driving in terms of the threats of willful, criminal attacks directed at you. We could go on and on about the kinds of criminal threats you can face as a driver, but this week we want to focus on averting those that arise while you’re moving, as well as dodging those that can come up while you’re standing at a traffic signal or at some other point where your car is momentarily prohibited from moving forward.

The most important tool you have at your disposal is constant threat awareness. It is often difficult to maintain that while driving, as we find ourselves occupied with the activity of safe driving, first and foremost, as well as the other sundry activities that sometimes become necessary to engage in (conversations with passengers, for example), but you must do it. For example, if someone seeks to pass you in an ordinary manner, then they will do so; that is, as the car behind you pulls out to pass, you should see it move past you to the side and front in short order. If, using your peripheral vision, the other vehicle appears to not pass and instead remains alongside of you, explicitly look to see if something is going on – is the other driver acutely interested in you for some reason? Even if it doesn’t appear so at first glance, slow down to allow the other vehicle to move fully ahead of you. Do NOT speed up in an effort to outrun the other vehicle. Tactically, you want a vehicle about which you are unsure to remain ahead of you, and not behind you as a pursuer.

When it comes to traffic signals and other traffic roadway locations where you find yourself needing to stop for an undetermined period of time, again, you need to keep your wits about you. A lot of folks will use such delays as opportunities to get sidetracked with something that is unsafe to do while driving; searching for a preferred radio station, texting, reading a newspaper or business document are just three examples of the kinds of things we often do while trying to pass the time at a traffic stop. Still, you must maintain awareness. The most important thing you want to do if you find yourself having to stop behind another vehicle is to keep enough space open between you and the car ahead of you so that you have a path of escape if something very troublesome begins to quickly unfold. Note that because most people do not think to keep good space between themselves and the vehicles ahead of them, the person who is behind you will likely have pulled right up to your bumper, so you will have no ability for quick movement in reverse. All you will have is the space you can create on your own by keeping your vehicle a strategically manageable distance back from the one in front of you. This additional space can actually help in two ways: first, it allows for maneuvering, of course, but it also gives you the opportunity to build up some momentum to hit the car in front of you with enough force that you may move it, if your escape requirements demand that you do that.

The matter of driving is second nature to practically all of us, but the fact that it is remains partly the reason why we can be so vulnerable on the road. We take the activity quite for granted, and don’t give much thought to whatever else may be going on around us. Unfortunately, as we descend further into uncertain economic conditions, common sense dictates that the roadways have the potential to become even more perilous, and so it should be just as much a function of our common sense that we recognize the need for heightened awareness as we move out and about in our vehicles.

James L. Paris is the Editor-In-Chief of Christian Money.com and the author of more than 20 books on personal finance. He studied biblical prophecy while a student at Central Bible College in Springfield, Missouri. Along with completing ROTC survival and marksmanship training, he is certified as a first degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Author of the soon to be released Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.

Bob Yetman, Editor-at-Large at Christian Money.com, is an author & instructor in the realm of personal finance and investing, as well as on topics of fitness and self-defense. A U.S. Army veteran, he has earned a B.A. degree in psychology from Stetson University, numerous licenses and certifications in the financial services industry, and the Certified Fitness Trainer and Specialist in Martial Arts Conditioning designations from the International Sports Sciences Association. He is the co-author of the yet to be released book, Selling The Mark Of The Beast – How The Antichrist Will Convince The Masses To Willingly Take The Mark.

Comments

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Hello and thank you for your article. You have valid points that most don't think about while driving. I was taught to drive defensively with alertness by my parents. I leave space between myself and the vehicle in front for several reasons. 1. Allowing for roll back should it have a clutch and the driver isn't so great on it. :) 2. In case someone rearends me, that I won't be pushed into the vehicle ahead of me and I get a ticket for being too close.
You've given me even more to watch for and be concerned about. Thank you as this is good to know.
Blessings!